The present invention relates to the management of virtual and physical network inventories and more specifically the management of virtual and physical network inventories of a xDSL network.
As networks providing digital services to consumers are built out to accommodate more consumers, the networks become more complicated and harder to manage. Additionally, as companies increase capital expenditures to build out these networks, more emphasis is focused on increasing the sales of services that are provided through a network. In a typical operation, a network may provide data services to and from an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and a consumer. Thus, a user typically accesses the Internet through the network connection. Additionally, video services may be offered through the network to provide a consumer with additional choices such as cable T.V. from a satellite or cable provider. With the increase in services, continual build-out of the network, and the exponentially increasing number of consumers added to these services, it becomes increasingly difficult to manage the assets of the network.
Companies include departments such as sales, engineering, and marketing that need different views of the same network inventory. However, even if the departments interact with the inventory of the network, the inventory is not a complete and up-to-date version. For example, a sales department takes orders from customers on the assumption that the network is physically able to offer service to the customers. However, the sales department takes the order without considering network capacity and/or network quality.
Additionally, the marketing department is used to forecast an amount of capacity to add to the network. The marketing department, however, does not include in-progress network additions or pending sales in their marketing forecast and thus, the inventory data used for forecasting capacity is incomplete. Therefore, forecasts to add capacity to the network may be flawed and inaccurate.
The engineering department designs and builds out the network after receiving the marketing forecast. In building out the network, the engineering department plans and installs physical network elements, and assigns virtual paths through the network elements to enable service to customers. For example, installing physical network elements includes installing network elements and associated cards/ports in the network elements that enable new customers to receive service. After being installed, identifiers for the new ports/cards are manually entered into an inventory data base and manually synched between the existing network elements in the inventory data base. Additionally, Interoffice Facilities and Fibers (IOF) identifiers are manually inventoried. Thus, identifiers for devices such as DSLAMs, routers, fiber components, and other components of the network are manually entered. Also, management of the assignments of logical paths in the network is manual and are repeatedly inputted for each network element in the logical path.
Thus, the management of inventory and the access of inventory are manual processes. Additionally, although engineering may manually inventory physical and logical network designs, the inventory is not accessed by other departments when making decisions. For example, the sales department approves orders for service without referencing any capacity or planned information. Basically, the sales department approves any order without verifying if the network has capacity to provide the service. Also, the sales department does not distinguish between different services that may be offered through the network. Thus, network capacity may be filled with less profitable services. Additionally, the marketing department produces capacity forecasts without the knowledge of in-progress network additions.
Thus, the departments are making decisions that are dependent on actions from each group without information of the other group's actions. This leads to inefficient management of network inventory.